Everything means nothing
by Raving Poppodum
Summary: When the survivors reach the end of the bridge all they’re greeted with is the destroyed remains of the helicopter which promised them freedom. Now it becomes more of a fight to keep their sanity,as the end of the road is much further than they thought...
1. Stillness

**A/N: My first Left 4 dead story :) This chapter is very short, but it's really just to see if anyone will read it. The chapters after this will be much longer and it's rated M for language,violence and possible character death.**

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_It wasn't everyday zombies took over your hometown. The un-dead swarming the streets and feeding off the living was just another plot for the next headlining movie. One of those horror movies where the audience sit devouring cups of popcorn, humouring the fictional survivors as they flee for their life from 'zombies' because in reality, it would never happen to them. Then along comes that ridiculous day you never expected, where the news is telling you the dead are coming back to life and eating everything human they come into contact with...Suddenly the so called movie is now real life, but nobody laughs then..._

"It's bullshit...Absolute fucking bullshit!"

An oxygen can was sent crashing across the concrete as Nick connected his foot with the useless piece of equipment. Fury carved across the gamblers face, fists clenched into tight balls ready to connect with anything or anyone that came close.

Crimson orange flames cut away against the dying sky, smoke pluming into dark clouds. The massacred body of a helicopter lay pathetically under the fire and smoke, the same helicopter which was supposed to be the bringer of freedom to the 4 remaining survivors. The zombies swarmed around it like they would a jar of boomer bile. Maybe attracted to the flames, maybe to the chance to rip at something or maybe because somewhere deep in their dead, decayed brains they knew they were destroying a method of escape. The latter was impossible with un-dead beings, but so far these zombies were doing a hell of a good job at preventing the survivors from escaping.

"What do we do now?" came Rochelle's meek voice from her slumped position on the floor, fingers clutched around her handgun as if she was half debating to shoot each zombie or just merely throw the weapon at the group of un-dead "Sweet Jesus...I was so looking forward to having a shower as well."

Ellis, who had taken a seat on a collapsed dumpster near Coach, pulled his dirt ridden hat off his head and sighed. Exhausted from the lack of sleep and constant need to be on the move, things were starting to take their toll on his happy-go-lucky persona and pushing the hick into a state of defeat. Helicopter destroyed, where was there to go? New Orleans was the final point of extraction and who knew what the military now had planned as they superseded CEDA and were now in control of quarantining this whole zombie mess.

"I guess we have to keep moving, we can find a safe room for the night then come up with a plan tomorrow," spoke Coach as he lifted the blood stained cricket bat onto his shoulder.

"Brilliant plan Coach, a safe room, the answer to all our problems," Nick mocked

Coach ignored the gambler's comment. He was becoming used to Nick's crap, discovering the best way to deal with it was to ignore him as soon as the nasty comments began to pour out his mouth. Rochelle pushed herself to her feet, her eyes still watching the zombie onslaught. None of the un-dead had even noticed the survivors stood there, focusing solely on just destroying the chopper. Ellis pushed his cap back onto his head, glancing up at the sky quickly as a raindrop fell against his cheek.

Now to face even more days of this zombie apocalypse...


	2. Transmission

**A/N: I don't own anything...If you're lookin for Nick/Ellis loving, don't look here. This story will involve real places,well as much as I gather they are.I'm gunna take my time with this and put alot of effort into it so it doesn't flop :) Again it's rated M for violence,Nick and Ellis using bad language,heh and the possible character death X**

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"Boomer..."

Mumbled words of a sleeping man...

Ellis woke once again with the cold sweat clinging to his forehead and the vibrating, numb pain in his hands. Insomnia was paying frequent visits to him lately, every night in fact. For someone like Ellis who usually could sleep like a log, restless nights were not a welcome occurrence, even more so when you spent days on end running for your life and fending off un-dead.

With painful, sleep deprived eyes now open, the room began to twist into a dark blur. Ellis pushed himself to sit up, a roaring burn seeping down his back muscles.

"This ain't right..." he mumbled into the darkness

A broken street lamp in the alley allowed flickering, dim light through the bars of the safe room door. Everything was plunged in silence, minus the sleep talking and snoring coming from Coach. There was always one person who could sleep and what Ellis wouldn't do to trade places with him right now. To be able to go to bed at night not worrying you may wake up to something chewing on your leg, to actually have something comfortable for a bed rather than a carpet peeled floor. Coach let out a snort before mumbling incoherent words and rolling onto his side. Ellis flexed his fingers to try and remove the spreading pins and needles feeling, it was starting to get annoying.

"Maybe you should try smoking, might help you sleep..."

Ellis knew Nick was having problems sleeping just from his lack of trust in each of them still, but usually he'd remain quiet when the mechanic stirred at night.

"Nick you haven't had a smoke in days," the mechanics tired voice croaked

There was a pause "...Thanks for reminding me asshole."

Ellis felt his stomach growl with hunger while he rubbed the back of his neck feverishly "Naw, I'd rather go for a cold one, or maybe more than one. Hey Nick, you wan' me to tell ya bout the time me and Keith went to go get-"

"Overalls, be quiet."

Ellis sat back against the wall trying to find some sort of a comfortable position. It was going to be another one of those long nights.

Morning arrived all too slowly, bringing with it heavy rain.

"Hey Rochelle, maybe ya can have ya shower now," joked Ellis as he stood staring through the bars of the safe room door

"Sweetie I am in no mood to be joked about with this morning. Right now my insides feel like they're eating each other and if you get in my way and I might just turn cannibal..."

Nick laughed quietly "Didn't know you were such a man-eater Ro. I'm guessing we best find a food store then."

"Amen to that," Coach added

Puddles were forming quickly across the pavement and thunder cracked somewhere in the distance. The streets looked somewhat lonely today with the lack of zombies hanging around. A couple un-dead mindlessly wavered down an alley or next to a beaten up car, but the numbers compared to usual were noticeably reduced.

"Maybe they're dying out from lack of food," Nick noted

Rochelle yelped as she collided with a broken lamp post.

"Maybe they're forming a zombie alliance to ambush us. I'd be pissed if I were hungry, oh wait I am hungry...Shit, shit shit, I do not want to meet a hungry zombie..." Ellis frowned

Nick wiped away the wet from his face, his hair clinging to his cheeks and neck "Thanks for the input overalls, but I'm pretty sure that every goddamn zombie we've met is hungry or why would they be trying to eat us!"

"Hey it's like a walkin' buffet to them, we're like the big fat twinkies or summit. They're just pissed cause it's like someone is running off with their twinkies and now they're trying ter get 'em back and-It's got me!"

"Smoker!"

Ellis was hauled into the air with a mauled, grey tongue constricting his chest. Coach aimed to fire but only hit the tongue, freeing Ellis but allowing the smoker to run off coughing to wait somewhere else. Nick swiped the mechanic over the back of the head.

"Just because you see yourself as a twinkie, doesn't mean you have to offer yourself on a plate."

The survivors destination – Big river food and fuel, appeared gloomily against the horizon. The large shell sign lay shattered and broken on the floor and both of the two windows for the building had been smashed in. Cars sat scattered about the place, most of them destroyed with missing tyres or doors.

"You think they'll actually be anything left?" Nick queried aloud as he attempted to peer through a window hole to see inside

The large entrance doors hung off their hinges, all beaten and battered within an inch of their life. The whole store appeared to have been raided in what might have been an attempt to grab as much supplies when the zombie outbreak began.

"I sure as hell hope there is chocolate inside this store," whispered Coach as he moved forward into the darkness, shotgun held against his shoulder while the flashlight fixed atop of it created shadows which lazily danced across the floor.

Nick followed in second, holding ready his rifle in case a lingering zombie appeared out of nowhere. Inside was eerily quiet and plunged in darkness from lack of windows. Rubbish and rubble lay about the floor whilst all the shelves appeared to have been stripped bare of items.

"Coach, I think we're out of luck," Nick mumbled in defeat

Coach crept quietly down one of the isles, scanning shelves just in case there was a slight abandon of something edible.

"Guys," came Rochelle's quiet voice "Where's Ellis?"

Nick glanced round to see the mechanic was nowhere to be seen.

"God damn kid," spoke Coach "Ro, go see if he's waited outside."

Rochelle turned and headed back towards the entrance, the store dropping back into a silence as her footsteps died away. Coach loosened his grip on his gun as the place seemed to be clear of un-dead.

Rochelle returned quickly, bearing news Ellis wasn't outside as they had hoped.

"Fucking bullshit," Nick mumbled to himself as the three tried to piece where Ellis could have vanished to.

"He came in after us I thought," said Coach

"I didn't check behind me. You don't think, a smoker got him while we were inside do you?" queried Rochelle

"Well he was calling himself a twinkie," Nick added dryly

Coach let out a rough sigh "Let's just have a quick look for any supplies, and then go search for him, he won't have gone too far."

The three survivors began searching down the remaining aisles in the store. A lonely can of beans cropped up now and then, but nothing much else.

After searching the whole store, they weren't in luck. Rochelle kicked an empty can in anger just as her stomach let out a growl.

"I'm so hungry," she wined

All of them froze as something shuffled somewhere behind them.

"Zombie..."

Coach pointed up his shotgun in the direction of the disturbance. Even just a zombie, everyone's heart was still in their mouth. The darkness was a foe to the survivors as it just created a better space for something to creep up unnoticed.

"Holy shit this is like the best day of ma life!"

The voice made them jump, but also caused them to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Ellis, where the hell were you?" yelped Rochelle

Ellis stood there grinning with a couple of beers in his hands.

"Found a car out back guys, it's pretty beaten up but I reckon I could get it goin' again."

Ellis turned and led them outside through a door at the back of the store.

The car in question, a large ford truck, sat there with all wheels and windows intact. Ellis stood next to it triumphantly, rubbing his hand on the bonnet.

"I used to have one of these babies, mine was older though. They're built like tanks, Keith used to hate 'em though, he didn't like ford cars..."

"So what's wrong with it," pushed Nick

If Ellis could get the car going and they didn't run into anymore roads full of vehicles, then they could be in luck.

"No keys 'n' there's a bit of damage to the engine I think. Just need a couple 'o' tweaks and we should be good to go go go."

"How long is it gunna take you?"

Ellis tilted his cap back and blew through his lips "Depends on the damage, shouldn't be too long though, I am a master with these."

Rain was still continuing to fall but more in a damp drizzle now. It was humid though, making everything feel sticky and clammy. Nick rubbed a damp hand over his forehead to remove some of the sweat beads from his brow; Rochelle was pulling faces as her stomach began to cave in on itself even more whilst Coach stood quietly contemplating something. Ellis had half of him disappeared somewhere under the trucks bonnet. Everyone was slightly unsure to how Ellis would fix an engine problem without any tools, but at the end of the day he was the mechanic, so they left him to it.

Time slipped by and what seemed like hours later, Ellis was still under the hood of the car. He'd retreated out a couple of times to murmur a 'not good guys', with oil slick on his cheeks and hands, but still continued to work away nether the less. Rochelle tapped the dirty face of her watch, the hands paused in position of half past seven. It had stopped working days ago.

"Ellis, we haven't got all day. If the car is fucked we move on and walk," spoke Nick roughly as he grew evermore impatient

Ellis mumbled something which was unheard.

It was then in the distance the cry of the horde came to break the silence.

"Ah you gotta be kiddin' me. Ellis, tell me that car is fixed and ready to go," said Rochelle

Ellis had removed himself from under the hood of the truck after also hearing the horde "This baby ain't goin' nowhere yet."

Nick struggled to his feet, with rifle in hand "Overalls, you get that truck done as fast as you can or I will shoot you. Coach, Ro, we'll go keep this party under control."

The three armed survivors ventured round to the front of the shop, leaving Ellis to finish the truck.

A small mass of zombies could be seen against the horizon, their black forms closing in at a fast rate.

"Hey they're ain't that many, no reason to panic," smirked Nick cockily, balancing his rifle on his shoulders

"I'm guessin' you haven't seen that then..." Coach spoke while pointing away from the approaching zombies

Just faintly the ground shook as in the direction Coach was pointing, a large bulk was making its way towards them.

"Ok that's reason to panic, man up we got a tank!" Nick cried

Rochelle began pointedly firing at the zombies, trying to take them out before they arrived alongside the tank. Ellis suddenly appeared from the side of the shop, face dirty with oil.

"Youngun why aren't you fixing that truck?" yelled Coach with eyes still fixed on the tank that was plainly visible now

Ellis followed Coaches eye line onto the tank before tilting his hat back and laughing.

"Oh lordy, big ass thing comin'!"

He then shot off back behind the store and out of sight.

"Got one those sons o bitches!" cried Nick as a zombies head popped in a splatter of red and grey "Coach how close is that tank now?"

"Close enough that I can smell that bad muthas ass!"

Glancing over the conman saw the tank was almost upon the three, its large infected body pounding its way over at an incredible speed. Four of the nine zombies that had been approaching still continued to close in on them. Nick glanced back and forth between the two groups of infected.

"Ro, take out those zombies, Coach and I will take down this tank."

Rochelle began firing at the zombies again, trying to take them down quicker with well timed head shots. Nick was at Coaches side just as the tank was in striking distance.

A large swollen arm swung out to hit Nick just as he ducked to avoid it. Coach leapt out the way in a manner you wouldn't think possible for a man his size. Shotgun shells blasted into the back of the tank, but no shot seemed to weaken it. Nick ducked again as a huge fist came flying at his face once more, but he missed the second arm heading towards him straight after and was sent crashing across the floor. With head spinning and something warm trickling down his face, Nick heaved himself back up onto his feet, to merely be slammed back into the ground again. The gambler vaguely heard his name being called somewhere distant, something heavy pushed down on his back almost crushing the bones in his body. The grass was wet underneath his skin, the faint taste of blood and dirt washed around in his mouth. The heavy weight on his back pressed down more and Nick was sure he heard something crack. Maybe it was over for the risk taker...

A squealing of tyres brought Nick back to his senses. The bone crushing weight on his back removed itself and he was able to force open his eyes.

Relief washed over him as he saw the truck, with a worried Ellis running over towards him.

"Come on man you gotta get up..."

Nick felt his arm pulled over a pair of broad shoulders and he was slowly heaved up off the ground. Knees quaking slightly it was almost like being drunk, but without the happiness and more of the hangover. The kid was surprisingly strong as Ellis was pretty much taking all of Nick's weight upon him.

"You fixed that truck pretty quick overalls...Where are the others?" Nick managed to grunt

"Distractin' that tank while we get ya ter safety," spoke Ellis in his thick southern drawl "'N' I din't wanna get shot by yer Nick."

The mechanic stank heavily off oil and a slight hint of sweat. His breath didn't smell too fantastic either, but then again none of them could talk. They'd each gone days without washing or brushing their teeth, personal hygiene being something forgotten and unavailable in this zombie infestation.

There was a clunk and Nick was suddenly being pushed onto something soft and the air became cooler than before. Something slammed and the soft hum of an engine became faint to his ears which was almost soothing.

"Shit this is like a bad nights drinking," he mumbled to himself as he tried to calm down the lurching stomach and spinning brain "I'm gunna spew all over ya truck Ey-lis..."

The click came again before something heavy fell onto his legs, distracting him from all relaxation. Managing to look up thinking it may possibly be the tank ready for revenge, Nick was relieved to see it was only Rochelle. She looked out of breath and was covered in zombie gore, using Nicks legs as a seat as he took up most of it from being sprawled out.

"Don't mind me," he mumbled sickly

Another clunk and Ellis lurched into the driver's seat of the truck, slamming the door quickly and loudly. He was panting, but there was a smirk hinted on his lips as though he was almost enjoying this whole situation.

Typical Ellis.

Clunk again and Coach was in the front passenger seat, shotgun still clutched in his hands. There was a sudden loud roar from the engine and the truck was now noticeably moving. Nick managed to sit up, clutching his forehead with one hand. Ellis was driving the truck flat out, cap turned back to front like he had done so when driving that car of jimmy gibbs junior. Glancing out the back window, a couple of remaining zombies were trying to chase after the truck but failing, the large silhouette of the tank fading into the distance. Nick felt himself shiver at how close that tank had been to squashing him, but began to relax now in the safety of the truck. He moved over so Rochelle could sit on the seat properly and lay his head back.

"Lets not try to fight anymore tanks okay," he mumbled, swallowing hard "It's one too many now."

Ellis laughed quietly while Coach stuck his thumb up in agreement. Breathing another sigh, Nick shut his eyes.

"Wake me when we get there...Wherever 'there' is."


End file.
